User Reviews

A barnyard musty smell greets you. Nice creamy head and pale colour. The taste must be acquired, and I have had better, such as recently in Vermont. Some lemony citrus. It will surely scare off most beginners. Creamy and drinkable. I think this should be had with a meal.

Thanks to wethorseblanket for sharing this one at jmgrub's birthday tasting.

Pours a hazy honey orange with a foamy tan head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, honey, and some cardboard aromas. Taste is much the same with a Brett flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that seems to be showing a bit of oxidation compared to the other beers in the series.

a very unique beer, mainly for how downright weird the yeast is, but i appreciate it for what it is, even though it isnt my favorite wild ale. the color is pale yellow, still bright, but washed out just a bit. a ton of chunky yeast tears around in the glass under a multiple inch pure white head brought on by active carbonation. its nose is one of the weirder in beer for me, a combination of sweaty girl, covered in some sort of floral lotion, and dry dog food. i know it sounds weird, but both are unmistakable smells, and both are strong in the aromatic profile of this beer. the sweaty chick part fades off after a few minutes, but the dog food feature remains. it didnt turn me off enough to not want to drink it, but i could see some people having that reaction once they identify what they smell. the taste is better though, still wild as anything and yeast driven, funky and not sour at all, like sourdough bread going just off, it has that five to it. it also has some decent hops, which brighten it up and are welcomed. the malt bill is light and simple, and doesnt add much more than fermentables here. an old world style beer, expressive in feel and one of a kind, but not a beer i am overly enthusiastic about drinking again. something about the nose...

Ripped straight out of the pages of history, I can easily imagine a day when the individual flavors found in this Primitive Ale would have been as good as it gets. Equipped with a plethora of refinement, raw, rustic and clumsy pieces and parts. But together, a beautiful medley of accidental chemistry and microbiology come alive to entice and satisfy the tastebuds.

Its tangy zinfindale flavors open up on the tongue, highlighting the fruitiness of green apple, lemondrop, honeydew, cantaloupe, white grape and orange peels. Its countering taste is of dull peppercorn, cumin, mild clove and sandalwood. Its curious melange of flavors is moderately spicy to add tepid balance to the beer's doughy sweetness.

Despite such brine, acidity and peppery quality; a grainy-sweet taste keeps the lead even in its modestly warming finish. Certainly, the beer's wild side shows but those sour tendencies, drier spice and earthen complexity typically frames the final impressions of a beer- not so much in this case.

Taste & mouthfeel: Light fruitiness up-front, more on the citrus side and there's not much sweetness present. Slightly medicinal/phenolic mid-palate. The dry, grainy malt backbone is fairly prevalent but this one is more about the complex yeast character. Little bit earthy and rubbery in the finish, and very dry. Would not have guessed this is 9%, it's remarkably light and easy to drink.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy light honey color with a prodigious head; swathes of lace run down the sides of the chalice

Smell: Smells like blue cheese; very peppery, with some balsa wood and tropical fruit

Taste: Opens bready, with a cheesy, horseblanket flavor, with some sour Brett that builds by mid-palate; underneath, there is the subtle blend of tropical fruit, including mango, apple, strawberry and starfruit; after the swallow, the flavors are joined by the balsa wood elements and a peppery finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with buoyant carbonation

Drinkability: This is an interesting brew,but I cannot say that I would approach it again as I think the horseblanket yeast element is too dominating

No, not that Surly, this is an entirely different variety. The investigation into this series continues...

I love the label artwork of the series, Dutch master Bosch's surrealism of the highest degree.

High-clarity straw gold tone, with many rivulets of carbonation. A strong pour yields a finger of sudsy, sparkling foam. Bits of lace here and there, but it looks fairly average. From the first sniff of the glass, it's realized that this isn't any ordinary Belgian Pale Ale.

Damp stone, sweet musty hay, possible corncob, and Comté or Swiss cheese. Pretty complex and interesting. Dry, sweet, chalky/tacky aftertaste, similar to an aged Tripel. Mild sweetness that seems to set it apart from others of the series. Carbonation is strong and ever-present, yet perfectly balanced. Brett is the key component here, supplying the requisite barnyard association. It's presence is subdued, yet still renders this ale wild. A little almond and fruit from the yeast.

Enjoyable overall, maybe not the standout of the series, but they are all unique in their own way.

Carefully poured, the "surly bird" delivers a clear yellow-gold body beneath a huge head of rocky bright-white foam. Effervescent bubbles can be seen rising quickly beneath; and the head retention is excellent. Add thick rings of sticky, foamy lace and you've got an impressive looking beer in front of you!

In the mouth it's light bodied, effervescent, and tingly on the tongue.

Sweet and fruity (berries, cherry, apple, orange), tangy, and candyish malt greets you up front, followed by some wet-hayand its earthy and mineral-like side. It's solid bitterness slices through at mid-palate, and some leafy and grassy - almost minty - hop flavors appear in the stunningly dry, dusty finish. A spritz of lemon rounds it out, and leaves it quite drinkable!

Kind of like a Duvel gone astray, this is very similar to the "Pig Nun", and one of the more accessible of the Flemish Primitive line; yet it still maintains a great Brettanomyces presence like the "Spoon Whacker'; and is, perhaps, the most drinkable of the lot. Superb!!!

A satisfyingly loud POP! greeted my ears on cork extraction and was soon followed by the entry of this gorgeous beer into its glassy confines. Surly Bird is yeast-riddled brilliant gold with multiple streams of sparking bubbles hurrying up to a wonderful looking crown of ivory colored foam that is softly sticky, impossibly rocky and deposits thick ropes of lace on the upper reaches of the glass.

To the best of my knowledge, I haven't yet had a beer that contains Brettanomyces. I have had a few that smelled like this one though, so I could be wrong. Bring on the barnyard funk! It isn't hard for me to imagine that I didn't like this sort of aroma the first time that I smelled it, but all that really matters is that I love it now. The usual scents of malt and hops are barely detectable. Beer like this is all about the sour, spicy, off the wall, funktastic yeast.

Whoa, that first mouthful was a real doozy. *Wild* ale is right. This one is going to be a strap yourselves in, hold on tight, keep your eyes wide open, rollicking ride on the funkadelic train to funksville. I wish I could think of more ways to say funk because this is one of the funkiest beers that I've ever had and I funkin' love it.

Thankfully, the 800 lb. gorilla that is the yeast strain doesn't feel a need to crush everything within reach. There's still a fantastic malt-hop stew underneath it all. The semi-sweet blonde maltiness lays down a solid foundation and I can even appreciate the noble elegance of a considerable quantity of peppery, spicy, grassy hops.

There's a huge amount of depth and complexity here. I'm glad that I have 750 ml to become better acquainted with each one of the fascinating facets of funky fabulousness. The intense, sour tanginess of each mouthful is something to behold and dovetails perfectly with the crisp, snappy, ultimately dry finish. I like a little mellow alcohol flavor in my BSPAs... and that is just what De Proef has provided.

The mouthfeel is well within the bounds of the style, although it favors the lighter end of the spectrum. It still manages to be lightly, lushly silky and is an absolute pleasure in the mouth. I don't usually love generously carbonated beer, but this one wouldn't work nearly as well if the bubbles were reined in. The mouth party that is the flavor needs a suitably jazzy mouthfeel.

From the bizarre Hieronymous Bosch painting depicted on the bottle to the beer contained within that bottle, the Surly Bird version of the De Proef Flemish Primitive Wild Ale series is quality personified. I can't wait to drink Pig Nun, Spoon Whacker, et al. The fact that they could all be this good boogles the mind.

Served in a snifter, a slightly cloudy golden-yellow with a small cap of foamy white head that retained and laced well. Aroma of Belgian yeast, sour and funky, wet grass, and light citrus. Sweet and tart fruit flavors--citrus zest, apple skin, a bit of pear and maybe cherry--wet grass, cardboard, and some earthy and herbal hop notes. Medium body, pretty crisp and drying, moderate carbonation. Quite drinkable.

Head for days on the pour of this one; creamy white, rocky, meringue like ... extending with structure inches above the glass rim. Smell is earthy, unique - damp seashore, brackish, hay and twine, mushrooms, caramel / toffee maltiness, a bit of lemon, honey, and a difficult to pinpoint fruitiness ... maybe like rotting apples ... the apples that have fallen to the ground around a tree and begun to ferment and decompose in the sun. Flavor is more of the same; a dynamic, earth driven crazy unique beer. This said, I actually feel this would be an incredible food beer, paired with rich fall braised dishes. Creamy medium mouthfeel, not heavy. No alcohol presence and remarkably easy drinking at 9%.

A: Pours a cloudy golden orange in color with some light amounts of visible carbonation near the surface and some golden yellow highlights. The beer has a three finger tall dense foamy light beige head that slowly reduces to a large patch of thin film, some very thin film covering the remainder of the surface of the beer, and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

T: Upfront there are light to moderate flavors of pale malts with s strong component of funkiness (not dissimilar to blue cheese). There are lighter notes of light fruit (green apple) yeast and a bit of a briny/salty flavor as well. Quite a bit of funk but very little sourness.

M: On the lighter side of medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Light hints of alcohol warming in the finish and significant amounts of dryness.

O: This is a pretty unique beer and definitely one that I am glad I found so that I could try it - interesting but not sure that I would get it again.

I've stared at this on the shelf for years, wondering about picking it up and giving it a try. Thanks to the Rare Beer Club, though, the choice was made for me in the positive. I'm not gonna argue. It pours a mostly clear gold topped by a finger or so of white foam. The nose comprises mild funk, coriander, wheat, lemon peel, black pepper, clove, cardamom, and a hint of both pine and pineapple in the background. The taste brings in more of the same, with the funk really melding well with the bitter citrus and heavy spice notes, allowing everything to blend together in a somehow uncluttered melange of Belgian abstract expressionism. Some light notes of green apple and/or pear pop up from time to time before being swallowed by the rumpus. The body is a light medium, with a moderate carbonation and a fairly dry finish. Overall, an exceptionally enjoyable brew, one that I'm now kicking myself for not picking up sooner.

From 06/25/11 notes. Picked this up at a store in NJ, but unsure of the vintage. The place has random Belgian vintages going back to 1991m so I'm guessing this is an older bottle. Poured from a 750ml bottle into my Bruery tulip.

a - Pours a cloudy dark amber color with one finger of fluffy white head and light carbonation evident.

s - Smells of sweet fruit, bready malts, and cardboard. Seems like it may be a bit past its prime.

I had to pour VERY gently so as not to agitate the lees. Resulting color was a light golden-yellow with great clarity. Nose ranged, in pour, from light cider to horse-blanket with every variation in between to include light-cider, light-funk and aspirin, to a less-crisp cider. Very different. This is a beer to be shared with others. Do NOT drink this by itself. I started to notice tropical flavors - watermelon rind, mango, pineapple. Wow, was this wild! We got at least six different pours off a single bottle. The finish ranged from powdery aspirin, apple cider, melon rind to lemon zest. A great summer beer with a few friends.

Pours a nice cloudy golden yellow color, very nice carbonation, very nice creamy white, about two-fingers plus, lots and lots of nice sticky lacing follows. The nose is malty, very yeasty, with some spices, slight caramel. The taste is mostly yeasty, but with some very nice tones of malt, spices, and caramel. Medium body. Very drinkable, a tasty BSPA.

Pretty sure this was the beer had on tap at Max's during their Belgian event (the label, I believe, was on the tap handle).

The beer pours a surprisingly light gold color with fair head retention and lacing. The nose is quiite sour and funk filled, but with some nice light vanilla and honey as well. The flavor profile replicates the nsoe, and this beer is definitely a sour funk lovers wet dream of a beer. Nevertheless, the combination of honey, vanilla and sour funk is pretty intriguing and enjoyable, with the mouthfeel suprisingly full (lot of flavor in this one). Alcohol is also a bit noticeable, but it's not over the top. I don't get too much heat or alcholic bite on the finish.

My guess is that this beer is not for everyone, and is not something I'd care to have all that often either. Still, this was another interesting beer to try at Max's Belgian event.

Pours a cloudy, dark golden yellow color with a two finger frothy, pillowy white head that very slowly fades into a thick, lasting ring. Large streaks of soapy lacing left behind.

Earthy, funky aroma with a lot of bretty barnyard character along With some zesty spice, pale malt and grassy hops. Not acidic but plenty of funky brett countered by bready yeast and light fruit notes. Smells like a bretted farmhouse/saison.

Medium bodied with a slight creamy texture and a prominent dry, funky brett presence. Not puckering or sour with a slight tart character and the dry funk complimenting the light fruit and other earthy notes. Hints of grass and straw with some dry, spicy hops followed by hints of bread, apple and pear. Very nice balance of sweetness and dry, earthy funk. The ABV is well masked with only some slight heat in the dry finish, resulting in a highly quaffable beer.

A- This beer has a light straw yellow body that is crystal clear but gains a bit of cloudiness with each pour. There is a thick white rocky head supported by a slow motion matrix of tiny bubbles gliding toward the surface. The head last for the full beer.

S- The clean smell has notes of smooth mellow barnyard characteristics with a faint natural fabric softener aroma that finishes with a wet straw green herbal quality. The aroma is just faint enough to be mysterious and keep me huffing the glass.

T- The pine bite is a surprise but it has a light white cheese rind note to it with a ice tea note to follow. There is a hop greenness to the finish that is not really bitter but more herbal or vegetable.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with a faint alcohol heat in the finish that added a nice depth to the beer.

D- This beer had pretty nice hops which was a shock but it had a nice support by some funk characteristics. The hops were not a typical hop flavor or aroma which was interesting as well and they did work well with the funk.

750 ml bottle. Served in a Unibroue tulip, the beer pours a hazy gold golor with a couple inch frothy white head. Head retention is good, and there's a lot of lacing. Aroma is earthy and fruity, it smells like pears, hay, peppery spice, apples, lemon peel, cloves and some funk. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some bready/grainy malt and light floralness noticeable too. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit creamy and has high but soft carbonation. It's easy to drink, and it sure doesn't seem like a 9% ABV beer as the alcohol is well hidden. I think it's a good overall brew. At $9.99 a bottle, it's certainly worth a try.

Pours a lightly cloudy gold with big poof of white foam. Scent leads with musty dirt and grain, tart green apple and pear, light citrus. Tast follows suit, apple notes well developed and play with the musty and earthy yeast profile, cleaner citrus and tropical notes on the end with breadyness. Medium bodied, bubbly yet cream, dry. Solid offering, was expecting more from the brett.